McLaren triumphed in China, improving on Lando Norris’ victory in Australia, with a 1-2 finish headed by Oscar Piastri, who secured his first ever pole position, whilst simultaneously making history by setting the new fastest lap at Shanghai. Overall, the weekend delivered extremely tight margins, a brief taste of victory for Ferrari, and more drama beyond the race.
In the season’s first sprint, Lewis Hamilton bounced back, just clinching pole position before converting it to his first win at Ferrari, whilst outperforming his teammate, Charles Leclerc. Equally startling was Norris’ P8 finish, which created anticipation of Ferrari’s potential to challenge McLaren’ apparent early-season dominance on Sunday.
Qualifying, however, almost witnessed a McLaren front row lockout before Mercedes’ George Russell split the two at the last moment. As Max Verstappen took P4, Ferrari secured the third row, shrinking hopes of victory. With much to prove, Liam Lawson inauspiciously placed his Red Bull in P20, outperformed by fellow rookies, Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli, who impressed with a respective P7 and P8.
On Sunday, Piastri cleanly led the 56-laps, followed by Norris, who overcame Russell to put the Mercedes driver in P3 twice during the race, regardless of his developing brake issues. Despite a first lap collision with each other, Ferrari started strong, with Leclerc defying his broken front wing and overtaking Verstappen, until the struggling Dutchman finally found his pace and reclaimed P4.
Elsewhere in the midfield, Fernando Alonso retired early due to brake trouble and Racing Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda suffered from front wing damage. Williams’ Carlos Sainz struggled for pace, while his teammate, Alex Albon, scraped his way into the points. As both Alpines struggled, Jack Doohan received penalty points for forcing Hadjar off-track and nearly colliding with Gabriel Bortoleto’s Kick Sauber. Conversely, rookie Oliver Bearman, pushed his Haas from P17 into P10, securing much-desired points for the team alongside his teammate, Esteban Ocon, who finished P7.
The spectacle continued after the chequered flag. Pierre Gasly’s Alpine was disqualified, and Ferrari’s results went from mediocre to worse when Leclerc and Hamilton suffered the same fate– a heavy blow to their championship ambitions. As for Tsunoda, his disappointment in Shanghai should alleviate at his home race following the long-expected decision to swap him with Lawson for the remainder of the season. As the Japanese Grand Prix looms, all eyes will likely be on Verstappen’s new teammate, and Ferrari, who have more to offset than before.
Image credits: “Oscar Piastri Chinese GP 2024” by Liauzh is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.